Privacy

Wall Street’s Fingerprints Evident On Financial Reform Bill

December 23, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

The finance industry also won exemptions to new rules for the vast derivatives market at the center of the financial crisis. Reformers wanted all these unregulated trades to be conducted on public exchanges. “Thirty percent of the market is completely exempted from any exchange. It’s a huge loophole, and we know that if a certain type of [hedge fund trader] is exempt from oversight, the market is going to gravitate to that to escape regulation,” says Carmen Balber, Washington director for Consumer Watchdog.

Computer protection before consumer protection?

December 22, 2009  ·  Carmen Balber

<p> President Obama <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/21/AR2009122103055.html">appointed a cyber-security adviser</a> yesterday but there’s still no one in the White House whose job it is to think about the security of consumers’ pocketbook... </p>

Google’s privacy PR meaningless until CEO Schmidt gets it

December 22, 2009  ·  John M. Simpson

Last Friday Google's Christine Chen, posted <a href="http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2009/12/googles-approach-to-privacy.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an article about the Internet giant's approach to privacy</a>, complete with a set of 20 slides, but such efforts are nothing but empty public relations gestures until CEO Eric Schmid<a href="http://www.google.com/intl/en/corporate/execs.html#eric" target="_blank" rel="noopener">t</a> demonstrates he gets it.

Nextel Settles For $750,000

December 22, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> LOS ANGELES, CA -- A Superior Court judge has approved a $750,000 settlement between Nextel Communications Inc. and customers, putting an end to a six year-old lawsuit over charges for paper bills.  Current Nextel customers will receive credits in their billing statements while former subscribers will get cash compensation, according to court documents. More importantly, consumers won the right to see their bills for free... "You can't squeeze out extra nickels and dollars from customers by charging them to read their own bill," said Doug Heller, executive director of the non-profit Consumer Watchdog. "We've been able to change practices at this company." </p> <p>   </p>

Krugman calls for filibuster revise

December 18, 2009  ·  Jamie Court

<p> Nobel prize winning economist Paul Krugman called in his <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/opinion/18krugman.html?_r=1&hp">New York Times column today</a> for revising the rules on the filibuster. His voice lends lots of credence to the movement.  </p>

Call to change filibuster math grows

December 16, 2009  ·  Jamie Court

<p> A colleague just received a <a href="http://www.cadem.org/c.jrLZK2PyHmF/b.5693871/k.4647/End_Liebermans_Reign_of_Terror/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?msource=20091215Lieb&auid=5719610" target="_hplink" rel="noopener">mass email action</a> from California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton reiterating <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamie-court/bust-the-fillibuster-not_b_392019.html" target="_hplink" rel="noopener">my call days ago on the Huffington Post</a> to change the number needed to bust a filibuster.  </p>

Congressmembers who opposed reform rake in banks’ dough

December 15, 2009  ·  Carmen Balber

<p> Consumers won a big victory over the banks and Wall Street last week when the House passed financial reform legislation, but it was a close fight, thanks in no small part to the extent of the financial industry's spending on campaign contributions and lobbying to kill reform... </p>

S.F. Officials Earn More Than State Counterparts

December 14, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Not everyone, however, agrees with the raise - or the logic behind it. "At a time when California is in a severe economic crisis, state workers' salaries are being cut and they are facing mandatory furloughs, this raise is highly inappropriate," said John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, one of the state's most vocal consumer advocacy groups. </p>

Stem Cell Official’s Pay Tripled

December 13, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

The state's stem cell institute this week tripled the salary of one of its vice chairmen, former state Democratic Party chief Art Torres. Torres previously received $75,000 a year to work half time as vice chairman. The board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine voted Thursday to bump that up to $225,000 for 80 percent of his time.

Health insurers use Facebook to bribe online “lobbyists”

December 11, 2009  ·  Judy Dugan

<p> The health insurance industry is using Facebook for the equivalent of buying votes for cash at the polling booth. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/health-insures-caught-paying-facebook-users-virtual-currency-to-send-letters-to-congress-opposing-reform-bill-2009-12">Business Insider</a> tells us: Health insurance industry trade groups opposed to President Obama's health care reform bill are paying Facebook users fake money -- called "virtual currency" -- to send letters to Congress protesting the bill. </p>

The “New Democrats” are really “The Banking Democrats”

December 10, 2009  ·  Jamie Court

<p> If money is the mother milk of politics, then big bucks from the banks and financial industry are souring financial reform legislation being debated in the House of Representatives this week. A <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/CFPA$.pdf">new analysis</a> by Consumer Watchdog shows just how rotten the Capitol Hill dairy is. </p>

Stem Cell Agency Triples Salary For Vice Chair Art Torres

December 10, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Former state Democratic Party head Art Torres got a $150,000 pay boost today for his work as co-vice chair of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. "At a time when California is in a severe economic crisis, state workers' salaries are being cut and they are facing mandatory furloughs, this raise is highly inappropriate," said John Simpson, stem cell project director for Consumer Watchdog, wrote in an e-mail. "Art Torres knew the terms of the job when he took it. He should have been happy simply not to face the cuts endured by other state employees."